EAGER: Research+Practice Collaboratory: CS for All 2018 RPP Workshops

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Washington, as the lead organization of the Research+Practice Collaboratory, proposes an EAGER project to convene three workshops on strategies for forming and sustaining research-practice partnerships (RPPs). RPPs have been shown to be effective in building knowledge about and implementation of education efforts in preK-12 settings and they have been required for applicants to the CSforAll:RPP solicitation (NSF 17-525). The first two workshops will provide technical assistance to groups on the process of forming RPPs focused on inclusive Computer Science (CS) education. The third will focus on strengthening newly formed RPPs that were funded under the FY17 CSforAll:RPP solicitation. The first two workshops will be modeled on similar, successful technical assistance meetings that were held in 2017. They will host groups of stakeholders--CS faculty, CS teachers, school administrators, state and local education officials, and representatives of local Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) organizations--interested in forming an RPP to address equitable, sustainable CS education. The workshop activities will help participants identify compelling questions that can be supported by an RPP, design projects that include measures to develop and sustain robust RPPs, and gain insight into the ways in which RPPs can be leveraged to develop evidence that can inform both practice and theory. The third workshop will provide additional technical assistance to PIs that have already received funding for RPPs through the FY2017 CSforAll:RPP solicitation (NSF 17-525), helping the to strengthen their partnerships, better understand the co-creation of suitable research agendas, learn from other RPP teams, and resolve any organizational challenges they have encountered. It will be held in conjunction with the 2018 Broadening Participation and Education in Computing PI and Community Meeting. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.